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UPCOMING: Big Band Jump Programs
October 11-12, 2008 Similar to the term 'airchecks' (see below for program of 10-25/26) the term V-Discs has been used casually on the air as if everyone knows what they were. They were 12 inch 78 RPM vinyl recordings made under the auspices of the War Department between 1943 and 1949. They were born at a time when American Federation of Musicians president James C. Petrillo initiated a musician's strike against the record companies, depriving the troops (and civilians, too) of fresh musical entertainment. Despite government assurances that all the V-Discs would be heard only by the troops and then destroyed, copies were stashed away by avid collectors. We hear some of those unique performances including Frank Sinatra, Fats Waller, Sgt. Jack Leonard, Randy Brooks, Les Paul before multiple guitars, Eddie Heywood and Tommy Dorsey.
October 18-19, 2008 Certain ballroom names became part of the lore of the Big Band Era and the Glen Island Casino was one of those. Overlooking Long Island Sound in New Rochelle, New York, the Glen Island Casino was home to top bands, most notable of which was Glenn Miller whose appearance there with the associated radio broadcasts were an important factor in his early popularity. You'll hear broadcasts from that historic ballroom just as they were heard during the Era as patrons sat at balcony tables for dinners costing as much as two to three dollars.
October 25-26, 2008 Casual reference is made to 'airchecks' one reader wrote to ask what they are. Before tape and digital, they were 16 inch one of a kind transcriptions ordered by either the bandleader or sponsor of a radio program for later review. A few of those airchecks survived and form the basis for this BBJ hour. As often pointed out, the spontaneity of 'live' performance was often superior to the same tune recorded in a sterile studio. This hour contains bits of on-air Glenn Miller excitement preserved all these years. The second hour is a remembrance of Charlie Barnet, the bandleader much envied by musicians because he played what and how he wanted to play ignoring the commercial consequences. The hour includes comments by Charlie Barnet about singers Fran Warren, Frances Wayne, Mary Ann McCall and Lena Horne, all of whom worked for him very early in their careers. The hour also includes the two largest-selling recordings of his band's history, and even a comment from him about his dozen or so wives.
November 1-2, 2008 Years ago a friend suggested the idea for this kind of program, consisting of recordings by musicians who don't normally work together. This is another edition of that idea, looking into the fund of material that's become available in the years since the first "Jam Session" was offered. The classic Metronome All-Stars will be part of the program, but so will Count Basie playing outside his band and the opportunities from V-Discs where contractual obligations were set aside, as well as a sampling of the Lionel Hampton Victor jam sessions.
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